Kidderminster boss Russ Penn urges players to use FA Cup success as promotion catalyst
Proud boss Russ Penn has urged Kidderminster Harriers to use their FA Cup heroics as the catalyst for a promotion charge.
Non-league Harriers put in a remarkable performance to come within a whisker of dumping Premier League West Ham out of the competition in Saturday’s fourth round tie.
But after an emotionally charged day at Aggborough, Penn stressed the importance of refocusing on the league as the club hunt a return to the National League Premier.
Harriers sit third in National League North ahead of next Saturday’s trip to Telford and Penn said: “We have a promotion to go for, or play-offs to reach. We are under no illusions we have a very tough 20 remaining games.
“But we should take great heart from this and I hope it is the catalyst to really push on.
“We know we are a good team, we are consistent and we have to prove that now. We are disappointing right now but on Monday we will be straight out there.
“We are hugely proud but we have to take stock now and really step it up and go again.
“We are always confident. We take one game at a time. There are some very good teams in our league who are also full-time. We are under no illusions it is going to be hard.
“Expectations have gone through the roof now but that is fine. When you are a good team you have to deal with expectations.”
Penn, meanwhile, insisted there was no frustration over the absence of replays in the fourth round following the heartbreaking nature of Saturday’s defeat.
Harriers led through Alex Penny’s goal only for Declan Rice to equalise at the death to force the tie into extra time, where Jarrod Bowen struck the winner with virtually the last kick of the afternoon.
Replays were scrapped from this year’s competition to ease a schedule congested by Covid call-offs, meaning Harriers missed out on a lucrative trip to the London Stadium, where they would have been entitled to 50 per cent of the gate receipts.
But Penn said: “We’ve accepted it. We knew what was happening so we have to be delighted with what we’ve achieved. We all are. We’ve definitely put the club on the map. We’ve done ourselves proud and that’s what I’m delighted with.
“The fear in the back of our minds is that we’d get rolled over on TV and it would be a six or seven or eight-nil drubbing. We’ve done exactly the opposite and we were that close to winning the game.”
